Volume 13 • Number 18
The Voice of the Catalina Foothills
September 6, 2023
www.tucsonlocalmedia.com
Fall Arts Preview
Tucson awaits a plethora of productions
INSIDE
‘Prance Your Pup’ walks into town BY TUCSON LOCAL MEDIA STAFF
R VISUAL ARTS .............. 9 Glass, sculpture, paintings: So much to see in Tucson’s galleries
LIVE MUSIC ............... 21 Pick your aural poison; there’s plenty to choose from
escue Me Tucson will host the inaugural “Prance Your Pup” fun walk (9 a.m. to noon) and adoption event (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Ann Day Community Park, 7601 N. Mona Lisa Drive, Tucson. The event features local vendors, food trucks, music and family activities including a “Smooch Your Pooch” booth. Kids of all ages can meet “Dusty” from the Roadrunners between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Multiple area rescues and shelters will be present with a wide selection of dogs and puppies to adopt. McGruff the Crime Dog may be doing detective work at the park. Rescue Me Tucson operates Rescue Me Marana, an all-volunteer-run, collaborative-based pet adoption center that aids several Southern Arizona shelters. Since opening in September 2021, Rescue Me Tucson has
Rescue Me Tucson will host the inaugural “Prance Your Pup” fun and adoption event on Saturday, Nov. 4. (Submitted) facilitated adoption of more than 850 dogs and cats and has helped connect hundreds of people to community resources for affordable spay/neuter, vaccines and training needs.
Rescue Me Tucson helps people looking for a specific breed learn how to search shelters
see RESCUE page 6
Tourism is cresting on pent-up demand THEATRE .................. 24 ‘Aladdin’ brings a whole new world to Tucson
BY JIMMY MAGAHERN Tucson Local Media Contributor
T
hrough 2021 and 2022, the tourism industry rebounded strongly, as pandemic concerns eased and a worldwide populace that had put its travel plans on hold indulged its pent-up need to vacation. Hotels were able to achieve rates and reve-
nue per available room above 2019 levels, according to a 2023 industry report by Deloitte. And U.S. air travel volume averaged 90% of 2019 levels through most of 2022. Only the well-publicized flight delays of last summer caused some to forgo holiday travel, but concerns about flight disruptions have since also eased. “The bookings are still very strong,” said
Tom Moulton, executive director of the Southern Arizona Attractions Alliance, a marketing and trade organization that partners with over 120 southern Arizona attractions and tourism-related companies to publish its annual Passport Book, a kind of Entertainment coupon book for the southern Arizona tourism
see TOURISM page 6